Harold Brighouses’s Hobson’s Choice lands at the Vaudeville Theatre in London’s West End as part of its 2016 season under the direction of Jonathan Church. The classic play was first seen in New York almost a hundred years ago before its transfer to the West End in 1916 and since then it has been seen on stages around the world, whilst also being adapted to the screen on numerous occasions. Now it appears at the West End once again and it has recruited a well known performer to bring the character of Henry Horatio Hobson to life – Martin Shaw.

The plot centres on the mentioned Hobson, a Salford cobbler who employs his daughters to work unpaid, and the events that result from one of said daughters’ decision to get married. He threatens to beat Will, her potential husband, and so she leaves with him to open another shop – one that will eventually lead to Hobson’s own shop losing business and reducing the man to nothing.

Director Jonathan Church is an internationally recognised practitioner who has been behind a wealth of shows for the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and also directed shows like South Downs at the Chichester Festival Theatre.

Now he brings Hobsons’s Choice to the Vaudeville Theatre, directing Martin Shaw as Hobson. Shaw will provide a familiar face to audiences thanks to his numerous appearances on our television screens, from Judge John Deed to Inspector George Gently. But whilst he is best known for his roles in these shows he has also made a big impression on London’s stages as well, with his recent portrayal Juror Number 8 in Twelve Angry Men appearing a the Garrick Theatre in 2013. His credits also include A Man For All Seasons at the Theatre Royal Haymarket and An Ideal Husband in New York.